The Gay Constitution

To sum up: I have heard lots of very silly things uttered about The Gays. That they have a political agenda is true - and the goal is to guarantee the same protection under the law that they are already supposed to have.

That is all.

I heard a friend go off recently about how "they have more rights" than the rest of us, because of new domestic partner benefits. I have heard friends go off about unfair tax advantages for homosexual couples or the damage that gay couples will do to our society. These are all lies. See this post from one of my favorite Christian bloggers explaining how those lies work, and why they are bad.

I'm not here to reinvent that wheel or to convince those friends that they should stop believing the lies. I'm here to point out that no matter what you may believe about homosexuals or the broader GLBT community, they have the law on their side. When it comes to the question of whether or not they should be "allowed" to marry, adopt, insure each other, claim spousal benefits, etc. they are currently, actively, and illegally being discriminated against by State, local, and federal statutes.

This is wrong.

Whether the law in question is DOMA, DADT, Prop 8, or any other voter or legislative act curbing the rights of U.S. citizens, it violates the Constitution. I also hear a lot of people - whether friends or politicians - who repeatedly criticize the courts for holding the Constitution up against their illegal laws. Mitt Romney just did it when criticizing the Ninth Circuit for striking down Prop 8, saying: "unelected judges cast aside the will of the people of California who voted to protect traditional marriage..."


The problem with that is that the independent judiciary is SUPPOSED to protect minority groups against the majority in precisely these cases. Not understanding that is frightening in an everyday citizen - let alone a U.S. Presidential candidate.


Of course, to this point in the post, I have only asserted that the Constitution already protects gays - I haven't proven anything.  The Supreme Court should be hearing this case soon, and their opinions will have the weight of law - unlike my own - but this explains why I take the position that I do:


First, understand that there are two competing theories for WHY people are gay. Most of the research done to date indicates that biology or genetics are the driving factor in a person's orientation. Most actual gay people believe they are born that way. Most of the opponents of the Gay Agenda insist that orientation is a choice. I contend that under the law, it does not matter which is the case.

The Equal Protection Clause, part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, provides that "no state shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

That is what the courts have upheld. And as far as I can tell, that is all anyone promoting the so-called Gay Agenda is asking for.